INVESTIGATION INTO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGIES FOR OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

INVESTIGATION INTO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGIES FOR OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

1:0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

The Niger Delta has fallen short in its economic and social development despite the presence of many oil and gas firms operating in the region tapping the oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta (Ibaba, 2008).  One of the key questions that has been raised is how the oil and gas companies can contribute to the development of the Niger Delta.  This research focuses on determining the contribution of the corporate social responsibility actions of Chevron in the Niger Delta region.  This is an important topic as this leads to the determination of the role of corporate social responsibility in the economic and social development of the Niger Delta region.  The corporate social responsibility actions of Chevron also has implications on the environment in the Niger Delta region.  In assessing the corporate social responsibility activities of the oil and gas firms, the research evaluates how the oil and gas firms have taken responsibility for key development actions to overcome the shortcomings of the Nigerian government.

Recent related research on issues in the Niger Delta region have highlighted the lack of development in the region and the poor management of the environment resulting from the impacts of the operations of the oil and gas industry firms (Nliam, 2014).  Various efforts have been taken in order to address the impacts from the oil and gas operations with the weaknesses from the government infrastructure and support resulting in greater responsibility from the oil and gas firms (Phil-Eze & Okoro, 2009).  However, while this is the case, there has not been an assessment of the responsibility of oil and gas firms in their contribution to the social and economic development of local communities through corporate social responsibility activities.  This study seeks to provide the research to address this gap and provide a foundation from which future research could be undertaken in the evaluation of the corporate social responsibility of oil and gas firms in the Niger Delta region.

The research has several elements that form part of the foundation of the study.  The first element is the focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the main area of research.  The study provides an assessment of the need for CSR from companies to support social and economic development in developing countries.  The second element is a focus on oil and gas firms in Nigeria with these firms and their actions providing the basis for the assessment in the research. The operations of oil and gas firms lead to significant environmental impact and risks, and hence it is important to understand the trade-off between the need for these firms to operate in countries and their contribution to the local and national economies.  The third element is Chevron, a large global oil and firm, as the case study for the research and representing the oil and gas firms in Nigeria in relation to the corporate social responsibility activities. Chevron’s impact and role in the development of Niger Delta is important to focus on given the significant operations of Chevron in the region.

1.2 Research Purpose

INVESTIGATION INTO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGIES FOR OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA